Dennis Ritchie (1941-2011)

Computer scientist Dennis Ritchie has died after prolong illness. He was 70.

The American was the creator of C programming language and a key developer of the Unix operation system. His name probably won’t ring a bell to most, but those who knows about computer science will understand the significance of his legacy. To simply put, his work provides the fundamentals of today’s information technology – in computers, data centres, websites, smartphones etc. Without Ritchie we probably won’t have Apple or Google at the first place.

The pic above shows Ritchie (centre) receiving the National Medal of Technology – the highest honour for technologists in the US – from President Bill Clinton in 1999. To his right is Ken Thompson, equally influential pioneer in computer science.